Painter, muralist, silk artist
Who I am:
The natural world and painting are the focus of much of my world.
I have always been an artist in one medium or another. I received my BFA from Washington University School of Fine Arts with a major in illustration. I have illustrated two books; most recently I did about 60 illustrations for a book focused on frogs that is not yet published. Over the years I have painted many murals across the country as my husband and I traveled to view birds, national and state parks and all the wonders this country has to offer. Expanding our horizons and our list of bird species we went to Central and South America, Fiji, New Zealand and South Africa, each new area giving new visions of the world to paint.
In 1990 I was the artistic designer for the large mural on the Veteran’s Mall in Greenfield. I organized volunteers who helped paint the history and nature of our area with the river running through it. Although I did not create the original design there were areas that had to be re-designed to fit the space and new pictures added—which I did. In 2017, after lasting 27 years it was time to refurbish this mural. Rebecca Tippens, who was the organizer or finder of funds for this project, got community input on updating the images to include more of what is around now. I designed about 30 more images from that input and we incorporated them into the new refurbished mural that you see today.
In 2003-4 we spent three months as English-speaking naturalist guides in an eco-tourist lodge in the Amazon basin. There I got to paint a large mural of their ‘secret garden’ on the dining room wall. I loved bringing small details of the natural world into focus on that wall—the birds, butterflies, flowers, monkeys and even a lizard.
Also in 2017 I exhibited my paintings created from a birding tour of South Africa. We spent three weeks visiting many natural areas and preserves, seeing over 400 species of birds and many mammals, reptiles and flora of the area. As we traveled and saw amazing things I kept thinking of paintings I wanted to make when I returned home. I worked on this for over a year before it came together at the Greenfield Gallery.
Over the years I have painted murals in private homes in the area as well as for the YMCA in Greenfield and for the Library in Greenfield through a Cultural Council grant.
Since 1999 I have been a member of the Shelburne Arts Co-op in Shelburne Falls, MA. It has been an honor to be part of this wonderful gallery and to work with other artists exchanging ideas and helping each other. Much of my work can be seen there.
I hope through my painting I can bring others to awareness of the beauty around us and how interconnected we all are to it. And truly hope we all will see how important it is to preserve it.